


They Judge Me Like A Picture Book By The Colors, Like They Forgot To Read

by ttbl0paz



Category: Riverdale (TV 2017)
Genre: Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, Angst, As much as possible anyway since we know NOTHING about Toni's backstory, Canon Compliant, Crushes, Drug Abuse, Drug Addiction, Eventual Smut, F/F, F/M, First Kiss, First Time, Fluff, Gang Violence, Horny Teenagers, Humor, Implied Sexual Content, Like honestly calm down, M/M, Recreational Drug Use, Sexual Abuse, Teenage Drama, This is gonna be one hell of an emotional ride
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-08-02
Updated: 2019-08-22
Packaged: 2020-07-29 15:33:46
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con, Underage
Chapters: 4
Words: 10,930
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20084551
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ttbl0paz/pseuds/ttbl0paz
Summary: Toni Topaz had seen a lot in her young life. From a young girl, she'd been forced to fend for herself in an unforgiving world. She'd had to teach herself lessons, and learn to suffer from the beginning. Even with the life she lives now, Toni's past is always there, always catching up. You can't escape it.Aka I'm SICK of no Toni backstory so I said fuck it and wrote it myself, even though chances are we're gonna get it in Season 4 and completely ruin my image but oh well, so enjoy this timeline of Toni's life.





	1. Chapter 1: Abel Topaz

**Author's Note:**

> So this is my first fanfic so I have no idea how good this is gonna be. But alas, enjoy :)

Abel Topaz is twenty-four when he opens the door of his rusty trailer to reveal a man he can immediately identify as Maurice Stevens, father to his ex-girlfriend, on the 28th of February 2002. He doesn’t know why the man he once considered his enemy tells him he needs to come down to the hospital, but he grabs his Serpent jacket and joins him in his car anyway. The journey there is silent, and when he looks over, he can see Maurice gripping the steering wheel until his knuckles turn white, glaring ahead at the road. His moustache twitches once, as if sensing Abel’s gaze, so he quickly turns his head and stares at the road, running by every possible situation that could have led him here. He knows it must have been something to do with Emily, the woman he once imagined starting a family with; the woman he may have even loved. 

Was she seriously ill? Was she severely injured? He didn’t know. He didn’t even understand why he was being brought to see her, considering it had been nearly eight months since she’d left him after a year of dating with no strong explanation. Whatever the reason, he was becoming increasingly nervous as they pull into the hospital parking lot. 

They walk through the hospital, still not talking, and by now Abel has gone through every possible scenario he can think of to prepare for whatever he’s about to walk into. It appears however, that no, he has not thought of every scenario, because they’ve just walked down the corridor labelled ‘Maternity Ward’, and oh shit, Abel feels like he’s about to faint, and he never fucking faints, but there is literally no other explanation for this, and oh fuck, he watches Maurice turn around before realising he’s stopped walking and is leaning against the wall.

Is he breathing? He doesn’t feel like it. Or is he? He’s hyperventilating now but there’s no air, so oh well, he might die. That sounds great to him right now. Maurice is still staring, sighing while he rolls his eyes and strokes his goddamn moustache, a stupid habit he’s always had since Abel’s known him. 

‘Listen, son. I don’t like you. I never will. You don’t like me, and I hate you for ruining my daughter. But for whatever reason, she feels like she needs you in there with her right now, so I suggest you man the hell up, walk right in there and face your goddamn mistake!’ Maurice spits out, glaring straight into Abel’s soul. 

Abel gulps once, breathes in and out a little more, straightens up, and follows Maurice into the room, and god he literally can’t feel his feet, but he also has this huge curiosity to see his ‘mistake’ and suddenly isn’t quite as unsteady. The first thing he sees is that sickly white hospital colour, then his gaze turns to a young woman and young man he also recognises standing by the hospital bed; Emily’s older sister and one of her older brothers. They turn to Abel, and as expected, scowl at him just like the rest of Emily’s family always used to do, even while they were dating. Then he spots Emily’s mother in the chair by the bed. Her name is Imani, and she was always Abel’s favourite in the family, even if she still had a dislike for Abel and his ‘associations’. She doesn’t look at him however; her gaze is fixed lovingly on the woman on the bed. 

He takes in her deep, bronze complexion, and her frizzy black hair, and thinks she’s as beautiful as ever, albeit a little tired. And in her arms, he finds the reason. A tiny bundle of pink blankets, with a tiny face, and a tiny nose, and tiny eyes shut tight. Abel finds himself moving forward next to Emily, and she turns to him.

He expects to see joy on her face, but the new mother seems upset if anything. Abel doesn’t have long to contemplate it though, because she raises the baby towards him with a small smile. Abel looks towards her once more, uncertainty in his eyes, and she nods comfortingly, raising the baby a little more, and so for the first time, Abel holds the new baby, finally getting a close look at the tiny face.

‘She’s a girl, just in case you didn’t assume from the array of pink she’s wrapped in there.’ Emily chuckles softly, staring up the two with what Abel can only assume is love. He stares back with just as much. 

‘Really? Coulda had me fooled. Thought this was a little lad!’ Emily rolls her eyes with a smile at Abel’s ridiculous humour, and honestly, he thinks as he grins back at her, who wouldn’t? 

He starts rocking his daughter gently, and he thinks he sees Emily’s sister flinch at the movement, as if she doesn’t trust him, which she doesn’t. He wants to tell her very impolitely to fuck off, but he has his baby girl in his arms, so he thinks he’ll let it slide just this once. 

Now he’s cooing at the baby, even though she’s asleep, and he thinks he’s already going soft, but then again, this is his angel, and yes, he made this, so if he gonna be soft, it’s for his daughter. He can sense the uncomfortable energy radiating around the room from Emily’s family, but fuck them, Abel thinks. Fuck them and their Northside privilege, and their twisted view of him and his gang. 

He may be a Serpent, the King, in fact, but he’s a good guy, and he isn’t going to try and prove that to small-minded fools. No, he doesn’t need their approval, he doesn’t need anything from them. All he cares about now is his daughter, and maybe the half-dead woman on the bed. 

‘Have you named her yet?’ He asks Emily, and then feels bad because she was about to fall asleep. Before she can answer though, her mother intervenes,

‘Not yet. We wanted to, had a perfect name picked out too, but Em insisted we have you here to help her decide.’ The words sound spiteful, but as Abel turns to the older woman, she gives him a wink and a smirk. 

Imani hadn’t liked the Serpents, just like any Northsider, and didn’t like that Abel was the leader of said gang, but she knew in the end that Abel would do anything to protect her daughter, and a mutual respect was created between them. Yeah, definitely his favourite. 

He smirks back, and then turns his attention back to Emily.

‘We thought of Ruby-Ann. Ann for my grandma, and, well, Ruby because rubies are beautiful, just like her,’ Emily says, gaze solely on the baby. She chuckles then, and brings her fingers to pinch the bridge of her nose,

‘But I said that was way too cheesy. Plus, I knew I’d feel bad if you hadn’t helped choose the name.’ She smiles at him timidly, and his heart erupts at the sight. He knows he still loves her, and the birth of his baby, her baby, just enforces that love that he’s been trying to bury for eight months. 

‘Well, I gotta admit, that is cheesy as hell. But I agree with the Ann part for sure.’

‘Really? I thought maybe you’d want to name her Teresa, after your mom.’ Abel feels a pang in his chest at the mention of his late mother. Emily’s consideration warms his heart, and honestly, he’s starting to get a little sick of all of these happy feelings.

‘I don’t know, maybe as a middle name? I feel like I’d want her to carry a piece of my ma with her, but I also don’t want that to be the kid’s only legacy, y’know? She’s gotta be her own person too,’ Emily nods her head in agreement, staring thoughtfully.

‘I like Ann, but like I said, I want her to have her own name,’ He pauses again, thinking for a moment at what he actually wants to call her, and shit, it’s harder than he first thought. But he knows his daughter is a princess, who will one day be a queen, and deserves a name that will present her as such. And wait, holy fuck, he’s got it. In fact, he’s a fucking genius. 

Antoinette. How perfect, he thinks. The name of a famous queen, and Emily’s grandmother’s name is incorporated into it. Goddamn Abel you really are fucking Einstein. He’ll never know why he didn’t pass his grades. 

Sure, it’s a little on the posh side, but the kid’s gonna be half Northside and half Southside, and the Serpents make up nicknames for themselves anyway. Besides, his best friend and second in command is literally called Forsythe Pendleton Jones the second, and named his son, born just a few months earlier, exactly the same thing. Poor fuckers. 

He thinks he might call his daughter Annie for short. Or Ant. Something cute like that.

‘Hey, what about Antoinette?’ He suggests, a little too excited and very obviously proud. He can almost hear the surprise from the rest of the people in the room, and chuckles silently to himself. Yeah, he’s not stupid. He knows big names. Emily seems a little shocked too, but takes a minute to process it anyway.

‘Antoinette,’ She says, rolling the name on her tongue, getting a feel for it. 

‘Bit posh, don’t you think?’ She says, humour in her voice.

‘Well yeah, but you can get loads of nicknames out of that. And, it starts with Ann! It’s a name fit for a queen, which is what our baby girl is.’ He doesn’t say Serpent Queen, but the implication is there. He hears Maurice scoff and mutter something under his breath. 

Emily laughs. 

‘You mean like Marie Antoinette? The cake queen? The one who got beheaded? Yeah, I don’t know how I feel about that one.’ She’s joking, trying to deter her family from the Serpent Queen issue, but it’s clear to Abel in Emily’s eyes that she’s taken a liking to the name.

‘What, you don’t wanna call her that? That’s cool, we’ll stick to Ruby-Ann.’ Abel teases, enjoying the fun between them.

‘No, no! Antoinette’s fine. I love it, actually.’ Her voice softens and she looks at the baby once more, who’s finally beginning to stir awake, and Abel looks into them. They’re big and brown, and full of wonder as she stares at her father for the first time. Abel knows he has no choice now. He’s got a child to look after. A baby who’s going to grow, and get older, and he’s going to be there every step of the way. 

He’s a dad now, and that’s his job.

‘Hey there, Antoinette. I’m your Daddy. And I’m gonna love you forever and ever.’ He coos to the baby, and as if perfectly on cue, she starts to cry. The moment is so tender and wholesome that everyone in the room laughs, and for once, Abel feels content around them. He hands Antoinette to Emily, having a feeling she knows what to do, and she holds the baby tight in her arms, preparing to feed, as she says her full name to no-one in particular.

‘Antoinette Teresa Topaz.’ Everything is perfect now, and even though literally half an hour ago, Abel had just for the first time found out he was a dad, he isn’t scared now. Emily starts to feed Antoinette, and as she does, Maurice clears his throat and speaks for the first time since his mini outburst in the hall.

‘We should leave you three alone for a bit.’ Emily’s siblings agree and kiss her cheek and coo over the baby, while Imani tells Emily, if you need anything, just get a nurse to grab us, and other motherly nonsense before finally leaving mummy and daddy with baby, alone together for the first time.

They sit on the bed in silence for a while, content in each other’s company while Antoinette feeds peacefully. Abel knows it can’t stay silent for long, however, because there’s a question playing on his mind now, and he knows he can’t hold it off.

‘Why didn’t you tell me?’ He asks, breaking the quiet. He feels like his voice is echoing around the room.

He’s pretty sure he doesn’t actually want to know the answer.

Emily tenses, and then shifts her position on the bed. She brings a finger to little Antoinette’s rosy cheek, stroking gently as she sighs, but she doesn’t answer him. Abel pushes on.

‘Is it because your dad didn’t want me knowing?’ He spits out, trying to calm himself, but the thought makes him boil.

‘My family didn’t want you involved. I didn’t have it in me to argue, Abel, because I didn’t know what to do. I wasn’t ready to be pregnant.’ Emily starts tearing up, but Abel can’t stop for that. He needs to know.

‘Is that why you broke up with me?’ He asks, his heart breaking a little. She’s crying now, wiping her tears with her free hand. She nods.

‘You have to understand; I wasn’t ready! I didn’t even know what I wanted to do! My family didn’t like you, and the Serpents didn’t like me, and I didn’t want to burden you with a kid, so I lasted a month before I had to break it off with you and move back with mum and dad. Thing is, I thought I could do it without you too, but the second she was born, I knew I couldn’t. I wasn’t ready. I’m still not, so I asked dad to come get you. I know it’s unfair, but I needed you, Abel. So bad. I’m sorry, I’m so, so sorry.’ She doesn’t look at him, staying focused on Antoinette as her tears fall.

Abel sighs. There’s so much more he wants to know, so much he still doesn’t understand, but she’s in a state, and all he cares about now is his baby, so the questions can wait. He runs a hand through his hair and then rubs her shoulder, shushing her gently. 

‘It’s ok, it’s ok. I gotta admit, I have no clue what I’m doing either. Two hours ago, I was getting ready to get wasted at the Wyrm, and now I’m here, with my ex and a new baby.’ He chuckles. She laughs a little too through the tears.

‘But it’s ok. We’ll work this whole thing out between us; where she stays and when, all the shit I need to buy her, feeding her, everything. We’ll do it together. We’ll be great!’ But Emily isn’t convinced as she starts crying more.

‘I can’t.’ She gets out between breaths.

‘Sure you can! We can raise her together, I promise.’ But now Abel isn’t so sure.

‘I can’t. I’m not ready for a baby. I can’t do this!’ She’s completely sobbing now, tears spilling onto the baby’s blankets. 

‘Hey, hey, shush, it’s ok.’ Abel comforts, taking Antoinette who’s finished feeding and has started crying too. He sighs again, but Emily isn’t stopping. But it’s ok, he knows she can do this, knows they can do it. They’re gonna raise this kid and she’s gonna be the most incredible kid ever. He believes that with his entire being, and knows at the end of it, they’ll all be ok, and Antoinette will have the best life. He silently promises her, and himself.

As it turns out, she can’t do it. 

A week after Antoinette Topaz’s birth, Emily Stevens takes her own life. It’s as Abel Topaz is putting up a new baby basket with his brother, Jake, and his dad, Thomas, that Maurice Stevens bangs on his trailer again, and this time dumps the baby at his feet, tells him that his daughter is dead, and tells him he never wants to see Abel or Antoinette ever again. 

He leaves sobbing. 

Jake and Thomas immediately rush to Abel’s side, but he can’t hear them. He feels numb. He doesn’t know what to do. He only thinks one thing, and that’s that his daughter is now fully his priority. He needs to protect her. He doesn’t know anything anymore. He doesn’t know, so he takes his daughter, and he tells her,

‘I’m never gonna leave you, Annie. You and me, we’re stuck together now. I’m never gonna let anyone hurt you, or take you from me, ever. I promise. I promise you.’


	2. Chapter 2: Rest In Peace

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> So at the pinnacle of it, Abel figures that the Maurice decided he didn’t want Antoinette because he didn’t want a grandchild with Serpent blood running through her veins. He thinks that maybe Imani fought against it, wanted to keep her, but her husband was ultimately in charge, and there was probably nothing Imani could do, if she didn’t want to get hurt.

Abel Topaz doesn’t quite understand why the family doesn’t want anything to do with Antoinette. He doesn’t bother asking. Maurice made it quite clear; he didn’t want to see them ever again. He thinks maybe because after their daughter had died, Antoinette would become Abel’s sole priority, which she is now, and that would make her a Serpent through and through.

Maurice really did hate the Serpents. Abel recalls back when he was just sixteen, one of Maurice’s brothers had somehow gotten involved with the Serpents once and had ended up being shot by FP’s dad, Forsythe the first. 

He knows Maurice blames the entire gang for Forsythe’s behaviour, thinks they’re all the same, but Abel’s been a Serpent since he was born, and he’s never killed anyone. Sure, severely injured, but he’s never killed anyone. He doesn’t think he ever could. 

Emily had always been a wild card, according to one of Abel’s old friends, Alice Smith, or Alice Cooper now. She had gone to Riverdale High with her, and always told Abel stories of the one girl who acted out against the school all the time. She almost got kicked out. Abel had admired the idea of a woman like that, one that wasn’t some prestigious rich bitch, so when Emily Stevens walks into the White Wyrm at twenty-three years old, Abel was smitten. 

He remembers Emily introducing him to her family, and the utter hatred and disgust he saw on their faces. For some time, Maurice disowned Emily, and so she lived with Abel on the Southside, in his shitty trailer. 

Emily never officially joined the Serpents though; they never liked her either.

The Serpents were unaccepting of a Northsider, and only put up with her because Abel was the new King. He remembers Gladys Jones insulting her, leading to Emily throwing her whiskey over the other woman and resulting in a cat fight, even though Gladys was pregnant. FP and Abel had to accept that maybe their significant others would never get along. 

So at the pinnacle of it, Abel figures that the Maurice decided he didn’t want Antoinette because he didn’t want a grandchild with Serpent blood running through her veins. He thinks that maybe Imani fought against it, wanted to keep her, but her husband was ultimately in charge, and there was probably nothing Imani could do, if she didn’t want to get hurt.

None of that matters to him though. Annie doesn’t need them. She has her dad, her uncle and a grandpa who the minute Abel had told them about her, had instantly fallen in love with the child. And of course, Annie has the Serpents. Abel knows they’ll love her, since most of the Serpents have soft spots for small children. They’re big softies really. They had all been excited to meet FP and Gladys’ newborn, but FP had made it clear that he wanted to keep Forsythe the third as far away from the gang as he could. Abel wouldn’t follow that though, as he knew in some way, he could protect Annie more through them. She had to have been protected anyway; her entire family had been the leaders of the tribe that came before the Serpents for centuries. She was a royal by blood, and they’d treat her as such. 

It’s two weeks after Antoinette’s birth now, and the Serpents have heard of the birth of the new princess, and the death of the old one. He knows most of them feel guilty. He knows his brother and father are just as devastated as him, but he also hasn’t really felt anything for the past week. He’s been focused on setting up a stable home for Annie; buying her formula, diapers, baby clothes and bottles, setting up her beds and babyproofing everything. He knows she’s still a newborn, and he has a while to wait before she’s actually going to start crawling, but he wants to make sure everything is safe anyway, which proves to be difficult if you’re a gang member.

Jake tells him he should take a break. Abel thinks this is the kindest his younger brother has ever been to him. The two never got along, and Jake had been dramatically unstable throughout his life, leading the two into a series of dangerous situations. But he can tell Jake is mourning Emily too, and is probably also a little overwhelmed at the sudden baby in their lives but is ready to be an uncle. 

Abel thinks he isn’t ready to be a dad.

When Jake takes Annie from his arms to feed, tells him to stop hiding his feelings, Abel cries for the first time since Emily’s death. He cries for a long time, falling asleep from pure exhaustion, and when he wakes Annie is sleeping peacefully in her baby basket, and Jake is still there. 

It’s much later that evening that there’s a gentle knock at his trailer door, and he’s getting real sick of this. 

He opens it to Imani Stevens. She looks terrible, and Abel’s pretty sure he looks exactly the same. They stare at each other for a second before Abel remembers his manners and invites her in. The air is fresh, since it’s only just March, and Imani sits down and takes a shuddering breath, rubbing her arms to warm herself up. 

‘I want you to know, not matter what Maurice might’ve said, you’re welcome at her funeral tomorrow.’ 

Abel hadn’t forgotten, but since he received no invite, he figured he wasn’t going to be there.

‘Am I?’ He snaps, and this time, he doesn’t feel bad. Imani stares at him still, unwavering.

‘I don’t care what my husband, or my other children want. What her friends want, or what your friends want. This is for Emily, and I know that she would want you and her daughter there.’ She pauses, letting her words sink in. 

‘You don’t have to, but she’d want you there. As well as your brother and father.’ 

‘Really.’ Abel says, and it isn’t so much a question as a statement. Imani nods.

‘It’s your choice, but I think you should say your goodbyes.’ And with that, Imani leaves without a goodbye.

Abel doesn’t want to go, but he thinks about his daughter, who’s going to grow up without a mother. He thinks about his dad, who had liked Emily better than any of his previous girlfriends.

He goes to her funeral.

The four of them go, dressed in suits while Annie remains wrapped safely in blankets. He sees the pure rage in Maurice’s eyes and sees Emily’s only two brothers holding him back, no doubt telling him that this is Emily’s day, and not to ruin it. He sees Emily’s sister crying into Imani’s shoulder, but Imani isn’t crying. Her gaze is stony, staring ahead at the casket. She turns to Abel though, and her gaze softens as she gives him a curt nod which he returns. 

He notices FP, who he knew was going to the funeral anyway. His best friend had been kind to Emily, and the two got along well, so it wasn’t really a shock, even though some clearly weren’t happy with his presence either.

But it wasn’t about them. It was about Emily.

He spots Fred and Mary Andrews with FP, who knew Emily from school. He knows the couple just had a son also, though the baby isn’t anywhere to be seen. The three of them acknowledge Abel and smile sadly at him. He knows he and his family are best to be sitting with them, so suggests Jake and his dad go to them. He’ll sit with them too, but he’s not done observing his surroundings yet. 

He watches Emily’s eldest brother leave his seat and greet a woman at the door, along with a toddler and a baby in her arms herself. He knows it’s his wife and kids; Annie’s aunt and cousins, who she’ll probably never see again. He’s crying now, and his wife and toddler wrap their arms around him. 

Abel thinks the kid is incredibly brave. 

That, or he doesn’t understand what’s going on. Probably the latter.

Another woman walks in, and Abel immediately recognises Alice Cooper. She’s heavily pregnant herself with her second, or technically third child. He knows she had a son also, FP’s kid, in fact, but Alice made him swear not to tell him, so he didn’t. It was after that when Alice left the Serpents, but unlike others, he never felt any ill will towards her. He doesn’t know what happened to her son after his birth.

Alice sees Abel, and immediately rushes over to him, hugging him as best as she can while she carries a baby in her womb, and he carries one in his arms. 

‘It’s been too long, Abel. It’s just upsetting this is where we re-unite. How are you doing though?’ She asks, and there’s a croak to her voice, like she’s been crying.

‘Honestly, I don’t know right now. I’m just trying to get through it. But how are your family, Al?’ He asks, because he doesn’t want the focus on him, and he doesn’t want to talk about sad stuff right now.

‘Hal’s doing great, and my daughter Polly is growing well. She’s only young herself, but she’s so excited at the idea of a sibling.’ She says with a slight chuckle, and her attention turns to Annie.

‘God, she’s so much like you already. And her momma. She’s beautiful, Abel.’ She says with a smile, looking up at him.

‘What’s her name?’

‘Antoinette.’

‘That’s a gorgeous name, Abel. For a gorgeous baby.’ Abel thinks Alice sounds not like Alice anymore, not the Alice Smith he knew anyway, but more like some Norman Rockwell copy. He’s starting to realize that everything, if it hasn’t already, is changing. 

Abel thanks her and they continue their small talk before joining FP and the others as the ceremony begins. Abel wants to listen, but he zoned out long ago, just trying to hold it together. 

He snaps back into reality when he hears the door go and turns around to see a woman who’s just walked into the funeral late. He gets angry for a second, thinking how disrespectful it was, before recognizing her from her red hair immediately.

It’s Penelope Blossom, and Abel’s shocked to say the least. He knows enough about her from town gossip, and from the stories Emily used to tell.

From middle school to sophomore year, Emily had been best friends with Penelope Blossom, before ditching her before junior year because she didn’t want to hang around with a ‘Blossom Freak’. 

He knows Emily cared for her and felt bad for leaving her the way she did, but as it turned out, Penelope was pretty much the devil anyway, alongside her husband-brother thing, Clifford Blossom. 

She’s carrying a baby as well, and for a second Abel almost finds it amusing at how everyone his age is having children, but remembers where he is and figures that’s just as disrespectful to laugh right now.

Everyone knew Penelope and Clifford had twins, but Penelope is only holding one baby, the little girl; he can tell from the ridiculously pink dress she’s wearing. She was only born in September, but already has a full head of thick red hair. He thinks he sees the she-devil wipe a tear, but quickly regains her composure, standing at the back of the room, alone.

When the ceremony has ended, Penelope leaves as quickly as she can, but for some reason, Abel finds himself chasing after her. He gently grips her arm and she turns quickly, startled, before recognition and disgust appear on her face. 

‘You, you’re the leader of that disturbing gang. Topaz.’ She spits, clearly wanting to be out of his presence.

‘And you’re Penelope Blossom, old friend to my dead ex-girlfriend.’ Shit, he’s letting his emotion get out of control. Hold it, Abel.

‘I want to know why you came here, considering how long it’s been.’ He asks.

‘The same reason you’re here. I simply came to say goodbye to something I should have a long time ago.’ She says, and it’s cold and emotionless, and Abel almost shivers. He doesn’t like the way she says ‘something’, as if she’s a mere object to her. Annie stirs a little and starts to cry again. A shrill sound, and it’s drilling through his head.

The baby in Penelope’s arms (Abel recalls her being named Cheryl) turns in her mothers’ arms and taps Annie’s blankets, moving to stroke the infant’s head in a strangely gentle way. For a six-month-old, Cheryl seems incredibly aware to human emotions, and she begins to copy Annie’s whining, starting to cry herself. Penelope pulls her away.

‘It’s a terrible shame Emily took her own life. It leads you to question what had to have been going on in that head of hers to make her do such a terrible thing. Must have been something incredibly horrifying.’ She murmurs, cold and cruel. She walks away, and Cheryl reaches towards Abel and Annie with her tiny hand, still crying and probably not knowing why.

Abel Topaz doesn’t know why Emily Stevens killed herself. He’ll probably never know. But what he does know is that no matter what she hears, what she gets told, Abel knows that Emily did love Antoinette Topaz, and throughout her life, Abel knows he’s going to make sure Annie knows that she is loved. 

Because he’s a dad now, and that’s his job.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know so far it hasn't really been about Toni, but I'm setting groundwork for Toni's past and the people around her. Next chapter will be focused on a little Toni, who's finally old enough to actually talk :) Also, that Cheryl and Toni baby interaction, am I right? :D I always wanted Penelope's grudge against Toni to go a little further than just Serpent and being a girl, so I made Penelope ex-besties with Toni's momma. Also I'm a sucker for fate so


	3. Chapter 3: Fishing

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Her daddy always tells her not to listen to them when they’re being mean, and tells her that she is a girl, a warrior princess of course, and one day she’ll be a queen with a handsome prince by her side. Annie thinks about that a lot, and she thinks how even though the girls can be mean, they don’t play as rough and always smell nice. Boys are smelly and rough and even meaner, so she always tells her daddy she doesn’t want to be a princess, or queen, but a knight, and she wants a princess to save instead! Her daddy always laughs and tells her she can do that too if she wants.

Annie Topaz is four years old. She likes telling people that, because she’s a big girl now, not a baby. She knows how to do lots of things, like do up the buttons on her shirts, draw very good, ride a bike (without stabilizers) and do a somersault on Fangs’ trampoline. She knows she’s a big girl, so no matter what her uncle says, she isn’t a baby! Could a baby ride a bike? No! 

Daddy thinks she’s a big girl though. He tells her that she’s his big strong girl, his warrior princess, and yes, she thinks, she is a warrior! She doesn’t want to be a princess though. She wants to be a knight, even though Sweet Pea tells her that’s for boys. 

She doesn’t like Sweet Pea. He gets called it because his mama always calls him that, so everyone else does, but Annie doesn’t think he’s sweet. He’s big and mean and always steals her toys when she plays outside with the other kids. Not like her best friend Fangs. 

Fangs is very nice and always shares his candy with her. He’s quiet too, not loud like Sweet Pea and the other boys. Annie has lots of friends sometimes, depending on if she likes them that day, but Fangs is the best. Sometimes she laughs at his name, because it’s silly, but he’s called that because his fang teeth are bigger than his others, so she thinks a silly name works for a silly looking boy. 

Her other friends are Sarah and Blair, although they sometimes don’t like playing with her because she acts too much like a boy. She disagrees! She likes to wear dresses and likes the colour pink. Sometimes she fights with the boys and plays in the mud and water too, but she does act like a girl! 

Sometimes.

It annoys Annie though, because she doesn’t have any other girls in her family. She just has her daddy, Uncle Jakey and Grandpa. She thinks sometimes that maybe she is more like a boy, but even if she acts like one, she is still a girl, and she likes being a girl.

Her daddy always tells her not to listen to them when they’re being mean, and tells her that she is a girl, a warrior princess of course, and one day she’ll be a queen with a handsome prince by her side. Annie thinks about that a lot, and she thinks how even though the girls can be mean, they don’t play as rough and always smell nice. Boys are smelly and rough and even meaner, so she always tells her daddy she doesn’t want to be a princess, or queen, but a knight, and she wants a princess to save instead! Her daddy always laughs and tells her she can do that too if she wants. 

Today she definitely isn’t going to be like a girl though. She’s going with her Grandpa and her daddy to Crystal Lake to help them while they fish (which means really, she’s going to scare away all the ducks and pretend to be a pirate).

‘Annie, I’ve packed your bag for you. You’ve got juice, snacks, toys and a change of clothes, since you always like to get messy!’ Her daddy says and he grins at her and puts his big hand on her cheek. He gives her a kiss on her forehead, with a big ‘Mwah!’ noise and Annie giggles.

She loves her daddy, so she wraps her tiny arms around his neck and orders ‘Pick me up!’

‘Annie, what have I told you about manners? You have to ask nicely.’ Annie doesn’t see the point; her daddy’s wasting precious cuddle time just to make her say please? She huffs dramatically and mutters a small ‘Please’ because she knows she won’t get a cuddle if she doesn’t. 

‘Atta’ girl!’ her daddy says and picks her up, holding her close. Annie rubs his prickly beard, because it feels funny on her hand, and tells him,

‘I love you, daddy!’ Because she does love him, lots and lots.

‘And I love you too, sweetie. I always will, you know that. Now come on, squirt. We’ve got to go meet Grandpa at the lake to catch some fish!’ He puts her down, giving her an affectionate smile, and she giggles, because she likes looking at the weird fish. They taste nice too after Grandpa cooks them.

‘Yeah! Let’s get the fishies!’ She giggles, picking up her bag and putting it on her shoulders before running out the door, her daddy following right behind her. She knows the way, and it’s a quick walk, so she doesn’t need to hold her daddy’s hand, like she normally does. 

She starts running, because why not. She likes running.

‘Daddy, you can’t catch me!’ She says, because she’s sure he can’t. And, like most times, she is right, because her daddy is slow and she beats him, obviously. She hears his devastating failure behind her in his groans. Loser.

‘Oh, you won! You’re just too fast for me!’ He says, and she can hear the defeat in his voice. What a weak man. She laughs, because she’s better than him, and then laughs even more happily because she sees her Grandpa, grinning at her with his kind eyes, sitting on his folding chair.

‘Grandpa!’ Annie shouts, and runs towards him, jumping into his arms as he lifts her onto his lap, both of them laughing. Annie sees her daddy smiling at them and holds out one of her arms to encourage him to join. He chuckles and wraps his arms around the two.

‘Hey, Dad. How’ve you been?’ He asks, and Annie knows her daddy missed his daddy, because Grandpa had been on a trip with some of the older men at the Snake bar they always go to. She didn’t know what kind of trip, but she thinks it must have been important. 

‘I’ve been fine, son. My back’s starting to play up more and more though, so I think my… uh… ‘trip’ days are probably gonna be over soon.’ He says after the two men pull away from each other.

‘Dad, I’ve been telling you for ages now, you don’t need to keep doing these errands for us. I’m the King now, so you don’t need to keep worrying. It’s not your responsibility anymore.’ Her daddy says softly, and Annie doesn’t really understand exactly what he means but listens anyway as she sits comfortably with Grandpa. He sighs.

‘I know, I know. I gave you that title myself, for God’s sake! I just don’t want to feel useless anymore.’ He says, and Annie can hear the sadness in his voice.

‘Don’t say that, Grandpa! You’re not useless!’ She doesn’t really know what made him feel useless, but she’s sure he isn’t anyway. Grandpa looks at her kindly and ruffles her curly hair. 

‘C’mon now. Enough of this talk; your father and I have some fish to catch. Go run along, Antoinette, entertain yourself and maybe when you’ve done that, we’ll show you how catch a fish properly.’ Her Grandpa says in his deep, gruff voice. Annie grins with excitement; they’ve never shown her how to do it, but she’s a big girl now, so she can finally learn! 

She’s also smart enough to know that her daddy and Grandpa want to spend time together first, and that’s fine, because she’s just spotted a group of ducks that she could be chasing right now. And so, she jumps off Grandpa’s lap and runs after them.

She plays about for a while, swapping between chasing ducks, being a pirate, and playing with her cars in the mud. It’s great. Annie turns to look at the two men sitting side by side, and even though Grandpa is wrinkly and has grey hair, she notices instantly the similarities between the two. She thinks about how similar her uncle looks to them as well, thinking that they all have the same eyes.

Annie thinks she looks more like her mama than her daddy and his family. Their skin is a shade lighter than hers, their hair softer, and they have big noses. 

Annie doesn’t remember her mama (her daddy had told her she went to heaven with the angels a little after she was born) but she’s seen photos of her.

She’s very pretty. Her skin was a shade darker than Annie’s, but she had beautiful curly hair just like her. Annie’s daddy tells her she has her eyes and nose, but his lips. She thinks it’s funny, because how can she have her daddy’s lips when they’re still on his face? But she listens nonetheless. 

Annie wishes her mama could be with them sometimes. Because then, she’d have someone who could do nice hairdos, or teach her how to be more like a girl, or take her shopping, or put makeup on her when she gets a little older. Sometimes, she thinks she misses her, which she doesn’t understand, because she’s never even met her! 

Annie’s thinking about her mama now. She likes asking about her, but her daddy doesn’t like to talk about her. He gets sad, which makes Annie sad. She wishes they could all be together. 

She’s looking at her daddy and Grandpa again, and they seem happy right now, so Annie doesn’t want to make them sad talking about it. 

Instead, she thinks about her friends. Or not friends. It changes.

She likes to make a mental list sometimes of their names, so she can count how many friends she has. Right now, she isn’t angry with any, so her list is full. She runs through it, just so she doesn’t forget.

Fangs – Bestest friend ever.  
Sweet Pea – A bit mean.  
Chase – Sometimes rough when play fighting.  
Harry – Very quiet.  
Sarah – Pushes her sometimes.  
Blair – Doesn’t always play with her because she’s like a boy.

Annie only plays with them because they live in the trailer park with her, and sometimes their parents take them to the bar too, so they all play outside while the adults talk. There are other kids there too, but they’re all older.

Fangs has two older siblings; a big brother called Nico who’s nine years old, and a sister called Bethany, who’s six. She plays with Harry’s older sister, called Jade. Annie likes Jade and Bethany. They’re nicer than all of her friends. Fangs also has a new baby brother called Will, and Sweet Pea also has a sister, called Rita, and she’s one year old. Annie can’t wait to teach Rita to be nicer than Sweet Pea.

She’s broken from her very interesting thoughts when her daddy’s phone rings. She watches as he leaves his seat and walks too far away for Annie to hear what he’s saying. She watches anyway.

‘Dad, that was Tall Boy. He says there’s an issue down at the Wyrm, something to do with the Ghoulies. I’ve got to head down there and sort things out. Can you keep an eye on Annie for me?’ He asks, walking back over and running a hand through his hair.

It’s a habit Annie’s noticed he does when he’s worried. 

‘Of course, son.’

Her daddy walks over to her and picks her up, gripping her tight in his arms.

‘Be good for Grandpa, ok? I’m just going to meet Uncle Jakey and FP at the bar for a bit, and then I’ll be back to tuck you in.’

‘Ok, daddy. But what about dinner?’

‘Grandpa will cook some nice fish for you, how about that?’ Annie cheers, and then gives her daddy a kiss on the cheek.

‘Promise me when you get back, you’ll read me a bedtime story?’ She asks, because she knows when he goes to the bar without her, he takes a long time, so it’ll probably be bedtime by the time he’s back.

‘Of course, sweetie. I love you, baby. I’ll see you later.’ He says warmly, dropping a kiss to her forehead as she giggles. He puts her down and she watches the men nod to each other before he wonders off.

‘Come now, Antoinette. Get your toys in your bag, we’re gonna pack up and head to your trailer to make some dinner.’ Grandpa says. Annie huffs for two reasons. One, because she hates being called Antoinette, and two, because she likes the fish better when it’s cooked here at the lake, rather than at home.

‘Fine, but my name’s Annie! Not Antoinette!’ She retorts. Grandpa chuckles heartily.

‘Oh, I know, Antoinette, I know.’ She huffs again, because the silly old man will never learn. 

She packs her stuff much quicker than Grandpa, who’s handling large bags of fishing equipment, so she figures she’ll ask him about something, especially because daddy isn’t here right now.

‘Grandpa?’ She starts.

‘Yes, sweetie?’

‘Can you tell me about mama?’

Grandpa freezes, and stops what he’s doing for a moment. Annie thinks, uh oh, she’s in trouble now, but the older man sighs and sits down, and turns to look at her with a sad smile.

‘Come here.’ He says softly, patting his lap. Annie hops up.

‘What’d you wanna know?’ He asks quietly, and Annie thinks for a second.

‘Just what she was like, and other stuff like that. About mama’s family too.’

Grandpa’s eyes go hard for a moment, at the mention of mama’s family, but continues on anyway.

‘Well, Emily Stevens, your mama, was a wonderful woman. She was smart, and pretty, and she never let anyone tell her what to do.’ Annie giggles, because that sounds like her too.

‘She didn’t care about what anyone thought about her, because Emily was herself, and no-one could take that away from her. Now, her family, they were mean to her, because they didn’t like that she was wild. They tried to keep her contained, but she couldn’t be. She was a true free spirit, that woman, just like you, and just like daddy, and just like me. Your mother may not be Native American like me and your daddy, but she had the heart of a tribeswoman deep down.’ He smiles at her, and Annie is entranced at the stories of her mother.

‘When they found out she was dating your daddy, they kicked her out, because they didn’t like where he came from, and thought that he would ‘ruin her’, but they loved each other so much Annie, even if they would never admit it. Her family took her back when she was pregnant with you, but soon after they lost her, they couldn’t handle you. And no matter what anyone tells you, that is not your fault, and will never be, because you are a blessing to this world, Antoinette. I believe the spirit of our ancestors, great chiefs of the Uktena Tribe, live inside you. You are incredible, and the Stevens are weak for not realising that. But you don’t ever have to deal with them now, because they’ve all moved away, like cowards. But you don’t want to know them, do you, kid?’

‘No! They’re mean!’

‘Exactly. You’ve got your daddy, me, your uncle, and all the people at the Snake bar, and the kids in the trailer park. We’re your family, not them. Never them.’ He finishes, and his eyes are stony now, but Annie is too in awe to notice.

‘I want to fall in love one day!’ Annie exclaims suddenly, because she’s so excited at the idea.

‘It’s a beautiful thing, kiddo. Truly. And you may fall in love more than once, but when you meet your soulmate, it’s the most magnificent thing in the world.’ 

‘Awesome! I’m gonna find my soulmate!’ Annie jumps up and starts dancing around, chanting her last words over and over. Grandpa chuckles.

‘I’m sure you will.’ He says, sitting for a moment and watching the dancing girl with nothing but adoration, before continuing to pack up. 

The sun has set, and the sky is beginning to dim to blue now, and Annie can see the dark outline of pretty clouds in the sky reflecting in the lake.

‘Grandpa, can I ask you one more question?’ She says slowly.

‘Of course, pumpkin.’

‘How did mama die?’ 

And she’s met by silence again. 

Maybe she shouldn’t have asked.

‘I think it’s best you understand when you’re a little older.’ He says, and he’s not happy anymore.

She doesn’t dare say anything more.

It’s her bedtime now, and Grandpa has just finished tucking her in. Daddy didn’t read her a story because he was still out. Annie doesn’t really mind though, because she knows he’s busy sometimes, but she does worry. 

Because she knows it can sometimes be dangerous.

Because Antoinette Teresa Topaz is four years old now, and she’s smart. She knows more than the grownups think she knows. She knows more than the other kids her age know. Because she isn’t stupid.

She knows that the men and women that go to the bar and wear a scary snake on their leather jackets are members of the Southside Serpents. 

She knows they call themselves a gang, even though she doesn’t quite understand what that is yet, and she knows some of the people might be bad, and nearly all of them might do bad things. 

She knows because she watches people in the trailer park come back all hurt and bleeding, even watches her family do it. 

She knows because she watches people get taken away by the police. 

She knows because she’s seen some of them carrying scary weapons. 

It scares her a lot sometimes, because she worries that the people who ruffle her hair and call her princess might be dangerous and bad people. 

She’s scared because she also knows that her daddy, Abel Dakota Topaz, is the leader of the Serpents; the King of the Serpents, she’s heard people call him.

She’s scared because she thinks-

no, she _knows_-

that one day she’ll take over and be Queen.

She’s scared because sometimes she thinks daddy, Grandpa, and Uncle Jakey are bad people. 

And she’s scared because she thinks one day, she might be a bad person too.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Phew this took some time. A lot of the writing here might seem random or jump from topic to topic, or seem kind of simple, but that's because I tried to interpret it as the thought process of a four year old. And maybe because this is kind of a filler chapter and I don't know how to make a fishing trip interesting. 
> 
> Also if I hear anything about her calling Abel daddy I will literally execute you because this a four year old child, you monster.
> 
> Anyways, we finally got some Toni, or Annie, perspective! At the moment I'm kind of skipping to random timelines in her life, in chronological order, but the older she gets, the more she can do and the more drama we'll have, so they'll be a couple of chapters that are both set around the same age. 
> 
> Until next time :)


	4. Chapter 4: Summer Night - Part 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> ‘Annie, since you weren’t listening, tell me what persuade means.’ She says slowly, almost sickly sweetly, but Annie sees right through it, and stares at the woman’s yucky, weird browny-green eyes as she stares right back.
> 
> Annie wasn’t listening, but she does know the answer, so smiles back just as sweet.
> 
> ‘It’s when you convince someone to agree with you on something.’ She says, grinning the whole way through. Miss Ainsworth scowls for a second, and mutters something Annie lipreads as ‘smartass’, but quickly regains composure, grinning again and it’s super annoying.
> 
> ‘Well done, Annie, though I expect you to listen next time.’

Annie Topaz is seven years old. It’s June, and the last day before school ends for the summer. Annie is thrilled at this, for many reasons; one, because her and dad get to do whatever they like all summer. Two, because she also gets to spend time with her friends, and Fangs has promised they’ll head down to Sweetwater River so they can go swimming. And of course, three, Annie’s also thrilled because when summer’s over, she’ll be in second grade, and this is where she’s really gonna start learning stuff.

Annie is smart. She knows she is. Her dad knows it to, and even with the little money he had, he’d brought her books to read from and learn. She enjoys learning, but in first grade, they don’t really teach any hard stuff. Annie knows all of it. So, moving up to second grade means she can learn as much as she likes. 

Right now, Annie isn’t really listening to the teacher. She’s uncomfortable from being sat on a dirty carpet that barely covers the hard floor beneath it for almost an hour. She doesn’t like Miss Ainsworth anyway. She’s a mean woman who always tries to catch Annie out, to catch her doing something wrong.

But Annie isn’t bad, so she never has anything to accuse her of. She thinks maybe the teacher is like that because she’s teaching a bunch of kids who are naughty, who always fight each other and break the school’s belongings. See, she goes to Southside Elementary, where all the kids are mean, the teachers cruel, and the school, well, rubbish.

It’s unclean, and there’s never any toys or equipment for the kids to use, because they don’t have the money to fund in new stuff for them. Because the Northside won’t give them the money.

There are three elementary schools in Riverdale; Southside Elementary, Midhill Elementary, and Riverdale Elementary. The other two schools are on the Northside, and all the rich kids went to Riverdale, and some of the unlucky rich kids and lucky Southsiders go to Midhill. Annie’s dad tried to get her a place at Midhill, but there was no luck, and Annie got stuck with the Southside. 

There are only two middle schools and two high schools, Southside and Riverdale, and Annie knows, even with a few years left in elementary, she’s gonna be stuck on the Southside for all her school life. She doesn’t really mind too much, she just doesn’t like the violence or dirt, or the lack of good education. 

But she’s also ok with it, because all her friends will be with her the entire time, and she may want to live a little better, but she doesn’t like the Northside. They constantly talk bad about the Southside, and especially about her dad’s gang, the Serpents.

When Annie was a little younger, the Serpents and their violence scared her. It still does, kind of, and she knows some of them are bad, but now she’s older and spends more time with them, she knows they are more like a big family, and they only do bad things to survive, because the Northside won’t help them.

So yeah, sometimes, she’s scared of the Serpents, and scared of one day becoming one, but they’re also her family.

She thinks a little more about the Serpents, and the nicer ones, like Sweet Pea’s mom and dad, Scarlet and Warbaby, even though he looks big and scary. And Fangs’ mom and dad, Christina and Darren. They’re super nice. She can’t think much more though, because Miss Ainsworth’s ridiculously annoying voice has just made Annie jump.

Honestly, fucking woman, Annie thinks, but only thinks, because she’d get in loads of trouble for swearing, like Sweet Pea does all the time.

‘Annie, since you weren’t listening, tell me what persuade means.’ She says slowly, almost sickly sweetly, but Annie sees right through it, and stares at the woman’s yucky, weird browny-green eyes as she stares right back.

Annie wasn’t listening, but she does know the answer, so smiles back just as sweet.

‘It’s when you convince someone to agree with you on something.’ She says, grinning the whole way through. Miss Ainsworth scowls for a second, and mutters something Annie lipreads as ‘smartass’, but quickly regains composure, grinning again and it’s super annoying.

‘Well done, Annie, though I expect you to listen next time.’ Annie doesn’t know why she’s wasting so much breath on her, when the entire class is talking and throwing paper and rubbish, broken toys. She’s just seen Buck, another kid that lives at the trailer park, get up and entertain himself with old paints. But the focus is all on her.

She thinks it might be to do with the Serpent Princess thing.

In her defence, the teacher does try to settle the class down, but it’s the last lesson before the bell, and everyone’s excited to go home, so she sort of just forgets her lesson, and pulls out her flip phone instead. 

This happens quite a lot.

Annie sighs, but instead of trying to see if the lesson will start back up, leaves the carpet, along with everyone else, and joins Blair and Elektra.

Annie doesn’t really know why Elektra’s called that, but she claims it’s her actual name, and it’s all over the registers too, so Annie doesn’t bother asking. She hears a lot of weird names living on the Southside.

The two girls are playing with dolls, having them talk to each other. This does not entertain Annie whatsoever, but Fangs isn’t in her class so she doesn’t really want to sit with anyone else, so these two have to do.

Upon her approach, Blair and Elektra look up at her from where they are sat cross-legged on the carpet, and Elektra’s brows furrow as she opens her mouth to no-doubt complain, but Annie cuts her off.

‘I know, you don’t want me playing because I’m too rough’ Annie says, rolling her eyes. ‘I’m just gonna sit and watch because I have nothing to do until the bell.’ The two girls shrug and continue.

She gets along better with the boys now, for sure. Sometimes the girls and her get along, but hanging out together is always with the boys. 

The thing is though is that she’s not fully comfortable with the boys either. They make her laugh more, but they tease her.

She thinks the girls are far too serious, and the boys not serious enough. She happens to be in between, which, for her age, makes it difficult to be good friends with any of the other kids. But Fangs is still her best friend, and that’s all that matters. 

She likes Jade and Bethany too. Always has. They’re nine years old now, so they do their own thing quite a lot, but Beth is Fangs’ sister so whenever Annie’s goes to the Foster’s house, Bethany and Jade are often there, and sometimes play with Annie and Fangs.

The two of them play like boys, but also act like girls and know when not to be stupid, and Annie thinks they’re super pretty, and smart, and tough. 

And also smell really nice.

Annie’s looking forward to tonight because all the Serpent kids (as she likes to call them) are heading to Sweetwater River to camp out. She likes to think they’re gonna start fires and maybe swim in the river. Not too far though, because the water’s deep and the current strong.

Her dad would normally be protective, but the river isn’t that far from the trailer park, and she’s going with all the other kids. Plus, it isn’t the Northside, so she has nothing really to worry about.

Other than the Ghoulies.

But chances are they won’t waste their time chasing little kids at a river. They mainly care about the older Serpents.

The bell goes, and immediately, the children swarm to the door to grab their coats and lunch boxes, if they even have that, and wait as Miss Ainsworth opens the door, and bids the kids goodbye for the summer and literally just leaves herself.

Most teachers don’t wait for parents to turn up and collect the kids, because most of them don’t. The majority of the children in her grade and above just leave, because they all walk together.

Annie runs to the other class, with a few of her trailer park mates following, and immediately greets Sweet Pea and Fangs with the other kids.

‘Annie, I’m so excited! Tonight’s gonna be so fun! Me and Sweets said we’d make a fire and roast marshmallows and throw things in; please say you’ll join!’ Fangs pleads, his canine teeth far too big for his mouth as he grins impishly, a lisp attached to his words. 

‘Of course! We can try and jump over it too!’ Annie beams, because even though she’s smart, and mature, she likes to have fun as well. It’s not like she ever actually gets super hurt anyway.

‘Jump over it? You can’t do that! You’re tiny, and a girl, so you won’t be able to jump high enough!’ Sweet Pea blurts, frowning as if he’s actually confused.

Annie socks him in the arm.

‘Ow! What was that for?’ He exclaims, rubbing his arm. Annie shrugs indifferently as Fangs giggles.

‘For thinking I can’t do it. Because I can!’ She retorts. ‘Let’s go anyway, the others have all left and they’ll be at home quicker than us; they’ll eat all the marshmallows!’

The boys look around and see that all the trailer kids have already gone, so Sweet Pea breaks out in a run, taunting Annie and Fangs to do the same. The three of them weave in and out of the bigger kids, younger kids, and some angry parents, giggling as if this is just another one of their games.

They run most of the way, Annie pushing Sweet Pea every time she catches up to him. Poor Fangs is still last, struggling to catch his breath. They pass the other group of kids and they all shout at them as they run past. They respond by giving them two fingers.

They reach a crossroad to the trailer park and some other houses, where Fangs separates from the two. The Foster family has six members, so there as no way they’d fit in a cramped trailer. Annie knows that when Fangs’ momma, Christina, was pregnant with him, his dad, Darren, had brought a broken run-down house which all of the Serpents had helped to re-build for the family. It helps Annie to remember that most of the Serpents are good people.

‘What cha’ thinkin’ about?’ Sweet Pea asks. The two have slowed to a walk, and Annie hasn’t said a word to him without Fangs’ presence.

‘Nothin’. Just about the Serpents.’ She murmurs. Sweet Pea hums

‘They’re great, aren’t they? My dad always tells me he gets to beat people up, and show the Ghoulies’ who’s boss!’ He gushes, and Annie rolls her eyes.

‘It isn’t all great, y’know? Sometimes they get into trouble with the police, and sometimes they get hurt.’ She grunts, thinking to all those times where Uncle Jake or her dad come back to their trailer after a long night with bruised eyes and bleeding lips, holding their sides. 

They think she doesn’t see.

‘Yeah but everyone is scared of you, I mean how cool is that? No one messes with my dad so when I join the Serpents, I’m gonna make sure no-one messes with me either!’ 

Sweet Pea’s dad, Warbaby is notoriously one of the tougher ones in the gang. He doesn’t live with his son, daughter or their mom, but instead another trailer.

Annie thinks Warbaby (who’s name is actually Luke Miller) doesn’t spend as much time with Sweet Pea and Rita as he could, but like her dad says, it’s better she doesn’t get involved.

Sweet Pea’s mom, Scarlet Gibbs, is a Serpent too. She’s like her dad and Fangs’ dad, because she’s Native American, and her ancestors were part of the tribe that evolved into the Serpents. Annie’s great, great, great grandfather was leader of the tribe before he was killed, and his young son took over and gradually evolved it into a gang.

The purpose of the gang is to provide a family for the rogues, the runaways, the rebels, the rejects and outcasts of the town. It’s to provide protection and jobs for those who need it.

Warbaby and Sweet Pea don’t understand.

‘Why do you care anyway? I thought you liked stuff like this. Besides, your dad’s the King, which makes you Princess, remember? You’ll be taking over one day.’ Sweet Pea points out, and Annie feels a shudder run through her. She likes most of the Serpents now, and knows why they do the things they do, but she can’t help but find the idea of it still a little bit sickening.

‘Maybe. And I will join. But if I don’t like all of it. Some of it. But not all of it.’ Sweet Pea shrugs anyway, and stops outside his trailer before he punches her arm.

‘Whatever. You and Fangs are coming down together, right? Don’t forget a tent and food. See you there!’ He says quickly before he runs up to his door. Annie sighs and shakes her head, walking up to her trailer anyway. 

The door’s always unlocked, just for her.

‘I told you, Abel, they’ve had us cornered for months, and we’re just sitting around while they take more and more of our shit. We need to step the hell up and put them back in their place!’ Annie hears as she steps through the door, stopping to listen as she hangs her coat up. It’s her uncle, as she knows already that her and her dad are arguing again. They’ve never really got along.

‘You can’t make demands, Jacob. My main priority is keeping my gang as stable as they can be. Half of these men have children now, and I know when our brothers joined us they knew what they were signing up for, but I won’t have us storming a lair full of meth-heads! These guys are just junkies. They might threaten our turf but the reality is, they’ll never get it. They’re trying to get a rise out of us, and the more we fall for their games, the more we put ourselves at risk!’ Her father retorts, and she can tell he’s in King-mode.

‘Havin’ kids has made you soft! If this was a few years back, you woulda kicked their goddamn asses! Now we’re sitting back and letting ‘em fool about? I’m sick of this shit! If dad had just made me king, those Ghoulie shit-heads wouldn’t exist right now!’

‘Shut the fuck up, Jake!’ Annie flinches at the sound of her father raising her voice. ‘You know why I’m doing this, you know what’s at stake, so don’t give me that Serpent King crap now because you’re jealous!’ He stops as he sees Annie in the doorway, and Uncle Jake turns to her with a scowl on his face. He scoffs.

‘Whatever. I’ll see you at the Wyrm, Abel.’ He grumbles, moving past Annie. ‘See you too, Ant.’ He doesn’t make eye contact with her. She looks at her dad with sad eyes, and he runs his hand over the back of his neck and sits down.

‘Hey, kiddo. How was your last day?’ He asks warmly, but his smile doesn’t quite reach his eyes.

‘It was ok. Miss Ainsworth was mean as usual.’ Annie replies. Her dad chuckles.

‘That bitch giving you hell again? I hope you put her in her place, Annie.’

‘Of course!’ And the two are laughing, and everything is ok. She loves her dad, and sometimes things might be kinda hard, but she has her dad, and that’s all that matters.

‘What were you and Uncle Jake arguing about?’ She asks after they’ve settled. His expression turns sour and he looks away from her.

‘Don’t worry about that. He’s just being moody again. It doesn’t matter.’ He mutters out, and then moves to the kitchen. ‘We better get you some earlier dinner anyway, and pack you some snacks and clothes for tonight. You promise you and the other kids are gonna be good tonight?’ 

Annie doesn’t say anything for a second, wanting to ask more about Uncle Jake, but doesn’t because she know her dad will get mad. She settles for another alternative instead.

‘Of course we will, daddy. As long as you promise you and your friends will too!’ She giggles like she’s joking, but she means it.

Abel knows it too.

‘We always are, sweetheart. Always.’ He chuckles dryly, and Annie can hear the lack of humour in his voice. 

And it’s funny really though, because Annie and her friends are often not good, and she knows her dad and his friends aren’t either. 

She watches him porter around the kitchen, forehead creased, and has a sinking feeling in her tummy. 

She shouldn’t worry now though, because tonight is gonna be fun, and she never lets anything stop her fun.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Guess who took ages to update! Anywho, this is more of a filler chapter for the next one, and lemme tell you, shit's going to start going down. It's not all sunshine and rainbows in little Annie's life! So here we see her a little bit indecisive about her opinion on the Serpents and herself, I mean she is a seven-year-old who's growing up with the responsibility of leading a gang, so you can hardly blame the poor sod. Also I'm British so I have no clue how American schools work. Forgive me. Also a little bit more backstory for Sweet Pea and Fangs, and YES I have headcannoned that the Serpent we saw in series 2 in shankshaw prison that FP and Jughead visited (Warbaby) is Sweet Pea’s dad come at me.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! I have no idea what the update schedule is going to be on this so please don't ask.  
My Twitter is @ttbl0paz if you want it


End file.
